1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to a composition and method for alleviating pain and, more particularly, to a composition and method in which dried stinging nettle is applied to the skin proximate a pain site to alleviate pain associated with various inflammatory conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many modern medications have been developed from ancient healing traditions associated with specific plants. The medicinal properties of plants have been identified with specific chemical compounds which have been isolated, purified and, in many cases, synthetically reproduced. Many well-known drugs were originally derived from plants. For example, salicylic acid, the precursor for aspirin, was originally isolated from white willow bark and the meadowsweet plant. Quinine, which is used to treat malaria, was derived from Cinchona bark. Morphine, derived from the opium poppy, is still the standard against which new synthetic pain relief drugs are measured.
Modern physicians tend to rely on treatments using synthetic or chemically-manufactured drugs. Rather than using whole plants or plant extracts for treatment, pharmacologists tend to identify, isolate, extract, insulate, and synthesize the active compounds from plants for use in treatment. This approach, however, has drawbacks. In addition to the individual physiologically active compounds present in a plant, there are also minerals, vitamins, oils, alkaloids, and other substances which can be important in supporting the medicinal properties of a particular plant. These additional substances can provide a synergistic effect which is absent when purified or synthetic active compounds are used alone.
Various new and old drugs, from aspirin to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to cortisone, have been developed for the treatment of pain associated with inflammation. Musculoskeletal pain, commonly caused by inflammation following injury, is a common reason for self-treatment and/or consultation with a physician. Drugs such as aspirin or NSAIDs are the most common treatment. Arthritis is a general term for a disease involving inflammation of a joint or joints, and encompasses more than one hundred different diseases, frequently having entirely different causes. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, the two most common forms of arthritis, have the greatest public health implications. Osteoarthritis, also known as “degenerative joint disease” or “wear and tear” arthritis, results from physical changes in joints and surrounding tissues, leading to pain, tenderness, swelling, and decreased function. The joints most often affected are the hip, knee, and hand. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the whole body, characterized by chronic inflammation of the joint linings, not of the joints alone, and in particular the connective tissues of the body.
In both types of arthritis many manifestations are similar. The joints, whether singly or in multiples, may become swollen, warm, deformed, gnarled, and in many instances present grotesque deformities. In many cases the adjacent muscles and tendons are affected, as well as other connective tissues of the body, manifested by symptomatic swelling, pain and stiffness. Likewise, musculoskeletal pain, such as pulled muscles and broken bones, and hemorrhoids are characterized by symptomatic inflammation, swelling and pain.
The enormous consumption of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs to treat inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, musculoskeletal pain, and hemorrhoids often has undesirable long-term effects, and many of these systemic drugs have dangerous side effects. Their dosage must be carefully prescribed and administered under controlled conditions and circumstances.
As an alternative to modern anti-inflammatory drugs, the sting of the common stinging nettle has been used to treat inflammation and arthritic pain. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica, Urtica urens) is a perennial, slow-spreading plant that grows from 2 to 9 feet tall. The leaves are coarsely-toothed, with numerous, small bristly stinging hairs over much of their surface. The undersides of the nettle leaves and stems have small needle-like structures. Stinging nettle is a native species throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Andes Mountains in South America, as well as in North America. It is confined primarily to shaded, moist areas along streams, or in deep, rich undisturbed soils. Also difficult to eradicate, it is primarily a nuisance to recreationists because of its stinging hairs, which are indeed quite painful to the touch.
The Romans in ancient times used the sting of stinging nettle to alleviate joint and muscle pain by urtication (external stinging or flogging). They also did this to keep warm in the winter. Reports have also been found of nettle urtication for the treatment of arthritic pain by the Thompson Indians in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, throughout the British Isles, and in the United States. Nettle Sting of Urtica Dioica for joint pain—an exploratory study of this complementary therapy, Randall C, Meethan K, Randall H, Dobbs f. Comp. Ther. Med 1999;7:125–131. Research by Dr. Colin Randall at the University of Plymouth, U.K. also reports the use of the sting of the common stinging nettle to treat the pain of osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal pain. Randomized controlled trial of nettle sting for treatment of base-of-thumb pain, Randall C, Randall H, Dobbs F, Hutton C, Sanders H. J R Soc Med. 2000: 93(6):305–309.
While stinging nettle are known for alleviating arthritis pain with their sting, it is also known that a particular nettle extract can relieve the pain of skin burning and irritation. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,854,291 and 5,856,361 by Holt and Laughlin, entitled “Pain Reliever and Method of Use,” disclose a topically-applied capsaicin-based pain reliever for inflammatory conditions in which an ingredient is required to relieve the side-effect of skin burning and irritation caused by capsaicin. This ingredient is selected from either a polyol, a nettle extract, a yarrow extract, a coltsfoot extract, a birch extract, a rosemary extract, a horsetail extract, a ginger extract, a chamomile extract, a comfrey extract, a lavender extract, or a bergamot extract.
Also, the oral ingestion of nettle for the systemic treatment of arthritis is known. Rose et al., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,916,565 and 6,344,220, entitled “Product and Method for Treating Joint Disorders in Vertebrates,” disclose an orally-administered composition including metabolic precursors, herbal phytochemicals, and palatability agents capable of prophylaxis and therapy of joint and connective tissue disorders in vertebrates. The composition is primarily intended for ingestion by dogs, horses, and cats. The herbal phytochemicals are intended to provide a synergistic effect with the metabolic precursors glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, and include cayenne, ginger, turmeric, yucca, Devil's claw, nettle leaf, Black Cohosh, alfalfa and celery seeds.
While the above uses of nettle may be sufficient for their specific, intended purposes, they each have disadvantages. Accordingly, there remains a substantial need for an effective externally-applied treatment for pain associated with arthritis and other forms of inflammatory disease. There is also a need for such a treatment whereby stinging nettle can be applied to the skin without causing a sting, pain, or rash.